Eating Well At The Airport

It can be difficult to eat well or healthy when you travel, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. With some planning, you can totally do it. One of the hardest places to eat well is at the airport. There are tons of fast food restaurants, making it challenging to avoid eating a crappy hamburger and fries that cost three times as much as they do at home. You could pack your own snacks – which is not a terrible idea – but sometimes you just want to kick back and let someone else do the work for you.

Airports with the best foods

Boston Logan airport is where you go to find amazing fresh seafood. It's healthy and delicious and Legal Test Kitchen gives their own modern twist on all sorts of ocean dwellers, including crab & avocado salad, baked Boston scrod, and a tuna burger.

Chicago O'Hare mixes sandwiches with your favorite Mexican food that people clamor for at Tortas Frontera. Chef Rick Bayless has created "tortas" like garlic shrimp and the Chochinita Pibil with braised pork.

Denver International pulled in the city's famous restaurant Root Down to give flyers great farm-to-table meals as well. Look for delicious and healthy dishes like the baby beet salad, mushroom tart, and green chili and smoked lentil soup. That doesn't mean they only have vegetarian dishes, you can also indulge in steelhead trout, Korean short ribs, and lamb sliders.

Miami International has the taste of Cuba right in the terminal. Versailles is one of the most well-known Cuban restaurants and now you can eat there no matter where you are in the airport, as there are five Cafe Versailles locations throughout. Enjoy scrambled eggs & croquettes, plantain soup, and empanadas when you've got a hankering for a unique cuisine before you flight.

Minneapolis St. Paul International has a lovely and chic venue with a menu by Andrew Zimmern. You won't find the Minnibar menu packed with bizarre foods though. You order via iPad and can get your favorite classics with a twist, including a grilled cheese and a steak sandwich. Need a little fortification before your flight? Order the Bloody Mary that comes with a ton of additions that you may just want to claim you had a salad.

San Francisco International, unsurprisingly, has something for everyone, including vegetarians. The Plant Cafe is where to go for a healthy and flavorful meal on the go. In one place you can order an immune-boosting juice or smoothie, a colorful quinoa bowl and a mango lime chicken panini. 

What to look for

Just because a restaurant has salads doesn't mean it's uber healthy. In fact, many salads have more fat and calories than a burger. Don't use all the dressing and avoid things with anything fried. 

Look for veggies, even if you aren't a vegetarian or vegan. The extra vitamins will help your immune system deal with all the extra germs you're being exposed to on a travel day. 

Avoid as many fried foods as possible and instead opt for something like grilled chicken or seared fish. It won't weigh you down and make jet lag more probable on long flights. 

I love carbs, but eating too many when I'm traveling makes me tired and blah. It's the same as when I eat fried foods. I want to arrive at my destination feeling refreshed and ready to go. And if I get there at night time, I want to be able to sleep well. 

What to pack

I always pack snacks in my bag, whether I plan to eat it on the plane, at the airport or while I'm off sightseeing. Some of the best things to bring are fresh and protein-packed. 

• Nuts are easy to eat and don't make a mess, plus you don't need that many to squash the hunger pangs. 
• granola bars, which you can buy, but are better if you make them yourself. They are super easy to make and customize for your tastes. 
• Whole or cut up fruits. Do you love apples? Cut them in slices then soak them in a bowl of cool water with a tablespoon of lemon juice for 15 minutes, then you can toss them in a baggie without worrying about them browning. 
• Carrot sticks, broccoli and celery are all great travelers. If you have some room in your 3-1-1 bag, include a packet or peanut butter for dipping and extra energy.
• Dark chocolate can give you a natural boost of energy, just don't stuff your whole bag with it, because a little goes a long way. 

Where do you like to eat at the airport or what snacks do you like to bring along when you travel?

Review: Daily Goodie Box

Ever wish you could try new products out before you bought the full size box or case or however they come? There are tons of monthly boxes that cover things you love: books, makeup, fandom goodies and even jewelry. But what about food and health items? While you can request samples of some items on their websites, wouldn't it be fun if you just got a box full of samples that came right to your door? I mean, I have gotten shampoo and toothpaste trial sizes before, it has taken a long time to show up and it's just one thing.

Now, you know I use trial sizes to take with me on my trips, because I don't need a full-size lotion or foundation when I'm only going to be gone for a week. I'd love to also do this with food and other items. Daily Goodie Box is a free service that gathers awesome new products and puts them together to send out to consumers who want to try them out. Shipping is free. All that's asked of you is to review the items you've received in order to be eligible to receive more boxes in the future.

My Daily Goodie Box was packed full of cool stuff. Things I'd be excited to take with me on a trip and also use at home. 

There were a dozen items (average is 10) and i was super excited to try them out.

A few of the snacky things were perfect for my carry-on's front pocket, allowing me to have something to munch on while on the plane. 

You also know that I'm a "fan" of doing laundry on my trips in order to pack lighter and save money on baggage fees. My DGB came with the fantastic Nellie's laundry soap, which works in high efficiency machines, so it goes further. I like bringing my own detergent, so I save money. Having dry soap is easy to handle and doesn't mean I have to add something extra to my liquids bag. I also received a full-size stain stick. Now I can get that food stain out of my shirt and do it as naturally as possible. You can purchase Nellie's in tablets as well, so there's no measuring required. 

  

Do you like jerky and stuff like pepperoni sticks? I do! My box came with a beef and pork stick from Vermont Smoke & Cure. I immediately pulled it out and chowed down on it. So good! The next time I hit up Target, I found a bag of these sticks and snatched them up. They make great snacks for work, plus are full of protein with nothing gross added to it. They aren't cheap, but are affordable enough that I'm willing to grab a bag every now and then as a special treat.

It's been a while, but I once did a review of Dream Water on a trip, because my first day in a new place is always a challenge to get to sleep, no matter how exhausted I am. Dream Water gives you that extra push to fall asleep with all natural ingredients like melatonin. It's hard to travel with Dream Water, because it's a liquid, and buying it at the airport can be prohibitively expensive if you can even find it. Being able to purchase Dream Water in powder packs not only save money and space, but it's easier to bring more than one with you if you have trouble sleeping more than just the one night or there are several of you who need help falling asleep. 

Since you don't have anything to lose and only free products to gain, go sign up for Daily Goodie Box and wait for awesome stuff to show up at your door. Now, there's no guarantee that you'll get a box, because of limited quantities, but if you do, try your products as quickly as possible so you can give your feedback. This feedback is shared with the companies that are sharing their products with DGB (and you). Like me, you may find some new favorite things, for travel or otherwise. 

What's the best free trial product you've ever received?

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Disclaimer: I was provided with a Daily Goodie Box for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Where to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

In just a few weeks, the world will be overcome with green. Green beer. Green shirts. Green beads. Green hats. And corned beef and cabbage. What? Don't ask me. I've never heard of anyone eating corned beef and cabbage outside of eating at an Irish restaurant or St. Patrick's Day. I'm not sure it's for me, but I made colcannon, which is basically mashed potatoes and cabbage, and I liked it, so maybe I should give it a try. Anyway, back to St. Patrick's Day - the celebration of St. Patrick driving the (non-existent) snakes out of Ireland, by drinking green beer until you can't see straight. Why? Because that's how Americans celebrate almost everything. 

While you can probably find that old Kiss Me I'm Irish shirt in your closet and hit up your local parade, a change of scenery may not be a bad thing. Maybe you're traveling over the holiday and are looking for something fun. Here are some of the best celebrations around the world:

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Bueno Aires, Argentina

Argentinians love to party and they have the 5th largest Irish population in the world, so not getting in on this celebratory time is simply crazy talk. The parade and a ton of activities, food stalls and more go one throughout the day. Because it's not an official holiday, it's celebrated on the Saturday closest to St. Patrick's Day (this year the 18th), so you can actually celebrate twice if you want, or spend the actual day going to church and the traditional things one would do on Friday, which I'm sure many of the 500,000 Irish in Argentina take advantage of.

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Chicago, Illinois

The city is famous for turning their river green each year for St. Patrick's Day. Once the Chicago River has been colored, it's time for the festivities to start. The parade takes place on the Saturday nearest the 17th, but there is a second celebration that takes place in the city as well. The South Side Irish Parade takes place the day after the downtown parade, so you can make a weekend of it. There are also many Irish pubs around town to indulge in some beer, music and food.

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Dublin, Ireland

The ultimate place to get in on the festivities is where it all began. Well, not the parties. The holiday was quite religious and secular in Ireland until fairly recently. The first festival to be held in Ireland didn't occur until 1996 and it was only one day. Since then, it has grown into a week-long celebration of all things Irish that draws hundreds of thousand of visitors every year who come to party, join parades, watch concerts, witness fireworks, attend sporting events, take in theater performances and, of course, to drink beer.

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Montreal, Quebec

Who knew that there was a place in Canada that was like being in a little version of Ireland? Despite being in the heart of French Canada, you can find a selection of Irish pubs and a St. Patrick's Day parade that's like the US Postal Service. Whether snow, rain, sleet or hail, the parade must go on. It always takes place on a Sunday and is surrounded by an Irish Film Festival, charity ball, luncheon and more. 

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New York City

There's no surprise that a city built on immigrants has a large population of Irish and makes their celebrations its own. The city still has one of the largest concentrations of Irish in the world and their history can't be forgotten. New York's St. Patrick's Day parade lasts nearly 6 hours, and if you can't make it there, or hate crowds, you can watch it online. If nothing else, you won't be surrounded by a bunch of drunks, as alcohol is strictly prohibited. 

These are just a few of the places that throw a great bash. It's by no means a complete list, as you can also find wonderful celebrations in Boston, London, the West Indies, LA and possibly even your own city. You won't catch me at pub chugging a green beer, wearing shamrock sunglasses, but I might be quietly sipping a Guinness and watching a local parade on TV.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?